Chapter 10.72 — ABANDONED VEHICLES ON STREETS AND HIGHWAYS

The presence of vehicles which are parked or left standing upon a highway or street for seventy-two or more consecutive hours, except as expressly hereinafter permitted, is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.1)

As used in this chapter:

"Highway or street" means a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.

"Owner of the vehicle" means the last registered owner and legal owner of record.

"Vehicle" means a device by which any personal property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, except a device moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary wheels or tracks.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.2)

This chapter shall not apply to:

A.

Abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof situate upon private property or public property not including highways;

B.

Vehicles which may be removed by an officer of the police department of the city under the provisions of Vehicle Code § 22651, and any subsequent modification, additions, or amendments to such section or to its predecessor section of the vehicle code.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13.18.3)

A.

This chapter is not the exclusive regulation of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles within the city. It shall be supplemental to and in addition to any other regulatory codes, statutes, ordinances heretofore or hereinafter enacted by the city, the state, or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.4)

Except as otherwise provided in this code, the provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by the chief of police and in the enforcement of this chapter such officer and his deputies may enter upon private or public property to examine a vehicle, or to obtain information as to the identity of the vehicle and to remove or cause the removal of the vehicle thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this article.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.5)

In the event the city council contracts with or grants a franchise to any person or persons, such person or persons shall be authorized to enter upon private property or public property to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.6)

The city council may, from time to time, determine and fix an amount to be assessed as administrative costs, including the actual cost of removal of any vehicle (or parts thereof) under this chapter.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.7)

Upon discovering the existence of a vehicle left parked or standing upon a highway for seventy-two or more consecutive hours, the chief of police shall have the authority to cause the removal thereof in accordance with the procedure prescribed in this chapter.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.8)

Prior to removing any vehicle from a public street or roadway, notice shall be affixed to the vehicle advising that the vehicle will be removed for violation of this section after seventy-two hours. For the purposes of this section, a vehicle shall be considered to have been parked or left standing for seventy-two or more consecutive hours if it has remained inoperable or has not been moved at least five tenths of a mile or more during the seventy-two hour period.

(Ord. 635 § 1 (part), 2003; Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.9)

Seventy-two hours after issuing a notice of intention to remove a vehicle left standing on a city highway or street for seventy-two or more consecutive hours, the vehicle shall be taken to the nearest garage, garage under contract with the city for removal of abandoned vehicles, or other place of safety where the vehicle shall be placed in storage.

(Ord. 635 § 1 (part), 2003; Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.10)

Whenever an officer removes a vehicle and stores it pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and the officer knows or is able to ascertain the name and address of the registered and legal owner thereof, the officer shall immediately give or cause to be given notice in writing to such registered and legal owner to the fact of such removal, the grounds therefor, and the place to which the vehicle has been removed. A copy of the notice shall be given to the proprietor of any garage to which the vehicle is removed.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.11)

The garage keeper shall have a lien dependent upon possession for his compensation for towage and for caring and safekeeping of such vehicle for a period not exceeding sixty days, or, if an application for authorization to conduct a lien sale has been filed pursuant to Section 3071 of the Civil Code within thirty days after removal of the vehicle to the garage, one hundred and twenty days; and if the vehicle is not recovered by the owner within such period or the owner is unknown, the keeper of the garage may satisfy his lien in the manner and after giving the notices required in Sections 3071 and 3072 of the Civil Code of the state. In the event that the vehicle is appraised at a value not exceeding three hundred dollars by a person authorized to make such appraisal, the keeper of the garage may, if the vehicle is not recovered by the owner within one hundred and twenty days when the owner is unknown, satisfy his lien as provided in Section 3073 of the Civil Code and Section 22851.2 of the Vehicle Code.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.12)

Whenever an officer causes a vehicle to be removed from a highway or street for storage under the provisions of this chapter but does not know and is not able to ascertain the name of the owner of the vehicle or is unable to give the notice to the owner as provided in Section 22852 of the Vehicle Code, and in the event that the vehicle is not returned to the owner within a period of one hundred twenty hours, the officer shall immediately send or cause to be sent a written report of such removal by mail to the Department of Justice at Sacramento, and shall file a copy of the notice with the proprietor or keeper of any garage in which the vehicle may be stored.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.13)

The chief of police or his deputies shall follow, in removing any vehicle from a highway or street pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, provisions of Section 22856, inclusive of the vehicle code, as such sections may be amended or modified or superseded by other relevant sections of the vehicle code or other codes of the State of California.

(Ord. 486 § 4 (part), 1992; prior code § 13-18.14)